The invention relates to an apparatus for supporting articles.
When assembling, repairing, machining or operating a mechanical instrument having a complex and elongate structure such as an endoscope or other articles having a voluminous structure, it will be highly convenient if the instrument or article is mounted on a freely deflectable or deformable support assembly so as to permit the intended operation while changing the position or orientation of the article through a proper deflection or deformation of the support assembly. A conventional apparatus of this kind comprises a plurality of links connected together by means of joints, which are tightened by bolting. Hence, when changing the position of the support assembly, all of the bolts must be loosened by an amount sufficient to permit a desired deflection at the location of the respective joints and then tightened when a desired position is obtained, thereby requiring a tremendously labor consuming operation. The extent to which the overall support assembly can be deflected or deformed can be conveniently increased by increasing the number of joints used, but this results in a further increase in the amount of labor necessary for loosening or tightening the bolts. Thus, the number of joints has been necessarily limited in conventional apparatus.